The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-12-21
WAYS OF RED MEN.
Of tho Tribes Living In In
diana in Pioneer Days.

diana in Pioneer Days.
'.They made good deal of maple
sugar and sold part of it. They had
a large, fine camp on the west side of
White river, above Nobiesville. The
sap was caught in little bark troughs
that would hold perhaps half a bucket
full, and boiled down in brass kettles
Brass kettles were universal cooking
utensils of the Indians at that time.
You would never see party OF them
without several kettles. In sugaring
off they stirred the sap great deal,
and SO made the sugar of very fine
grain. They then nodded it in small.
round cakes about six or eight inches
across. They used to bring in consid-
cradle quantities of honey and bees
wax also There were many wild bees
in the country, and plenty of honey for
those who would find the trees
in which they hived and cut
them down. They would put the
comb in their kettles. separate
the wax. and boil down the honey
until it was as thick as the thickest
molasses. Sometimes they would
make it thick as shoemaker's wax and
roll it in balls. The trade in these
articles, however. was very small COM
pared with the trade in peltry."
How did they keep meat?'
by jerking it. They cut it in thin
strips and placed it on framework
of sticks under which was bed Of live
Goals In this way the meat was par
TALLY dried and partially cooked.
They were very fond of salt, but had
very little of it. remember one fall
when they cured the meat they had
taken in their fall hunt near my faith
er's house. I went over and watched
them They had skins spread on the
ground and threw pieces of meat on
them in a pile as fast as they were
sufficiently dried. One thing that i'm
pressed itself on my memory was that
little naked Indian climbed up on
the pile and sat down.
What clothing did they wear:9'
They had buckskin leggins reach
ing to the waist the legs separate, and
breechclout of the same material.
Usually they wore calico shirts, but
sometimes not In cold weather they
wrapped blankets about them, and
often wrapped pieces Of blanket about
their feet before putting on their
moccasins. 1t is a very singular fact
that they could walk in snow without
wetting their moccasins when the
weather was frosty. I have often
known them to hunt all day i'll the
snow and come home with dry feet.
If white man wore them the heat Of
his feet would melt the snow and wet
the moccasins. Ipresume it was some
popularity in the circulation. They
never sweat much. f"
did these Indians tattoov'
VERY little. Most of the Indian
tribes had traditions that they were
descended from some animal or other.
The Shawnees said that they were de-
scended from fish, and they used to
have fish tattooed on them. They
said that the transformation took place
| in lake in Northern Indiana-Beaver
Lake, I think it was William Conner
told me he had often seen the place.
He said that!a root projected into the
water, and the Indians pointed it out
as the one that the first Indian caught
| hold of to pull himself out of the
| water when he was transformed into a
man. Other tribes said that they
come from other animals, and they
usually had figures of these animals
tattooed on them. l never saw any
tattooing except that "-1,sdianaposis
| Journal.
| q